UHS stroke service offering 24/7 mechanical thrombectomy service from 3 March

From the beginning of next week (3 March) the UHS stroke service will be providing life-changing mechanical thrombectomy (MT) treatment for some stroke patients around the clock, offering a 24/7 service which will allow treatment to be carried out as quickly as possible with the aim of achieving better outcomes.

Mechanical thrombectomy involves removing a blockage in a large blood vessel in the brain, restoring blood flow to brain tissue under threat from damage and reducing stroke severity and disability and increasing the chances of returning to independent living.

Approximately 15% of patients with ischaemic stroke (blocked blood vessels) benefit from this treatment. It is a highly specialised procedure, performed by interventional neuro-radiologists who carry out minimally invasive surgical procedures from the inside of blood vessels within the brain.

Mechanical thrombectomy involves passing a small catheter or tube up through the inside of arteries starting in the groin up into the brain, feeding a small wire through the blood clot causing the blockage, opening up a stent to capture the clot and pulling it back into the catheter and removing it from the blood vessel resulting in restoring blood flow.

Patients will be either transferred from hospitals around the Wessex region, including Bournemouth, Dorchester, Salisbury, Isle of Wight, Portsmouth, Chichester and Winchester and Basingstoke, or for local patients from the Emergency Department at Southampton General Hospital.

280 patients were treated with MT during normal working hours in 2024, and that number is expected to double offering a 24/7 service over the first 12 to 18 months, and up to 1200 patients a year over the first five years.

40% of patients will return home with little or no neurological disability, and the remainder will have much better outcomes including reduced length of hospital stay, lower mortality, better rehabilitation outcomes and improved quality of life as a result of having had MT.